Watertown-Based Athenahealth Bought For $5.7B

WATERTOWN, MA – Watertown-based athenahealth has been acquired by Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital for $5.7 billion, the company announced Monday. Under the terms of the agreement, athenahealth shareholders will receive $135 in cash per share.

Veritas and Evergreen expect to combine athenahealth with Virence Health to form a privately held healthcare information technology company. It will operate under the athenahealth brand and remain headquartered in Watertown, the company said.

Virence chairman and CEO Bob Segert will lead the combined company, which will consist of executives from both companies.

"After a thorough strategic review process, we have decided to enter this agreement with Veritas, which we believe maximizes value for our shareholders and accelerates our goal to transform healthcare," Jeff Immelt, executive chairman of athenahealth, said in a statement. "Combining with Virence will create new opportunities for collaboration and growth. Operating as a private company with Veritas's ownership and support will provide athenahealth with increased flexibility to achieve our purpose of unleashing our collective potential to transform healthcare."

Athenahealth founder and CEO Jonathan Bush left the company in June following a report alleging he had assaulted his ex-wife 14 years ago, according to Reuters. Its acquisition is the largest deal for Evergreen, which is based in Menlo Park, CA.

Image via Shutterstock